The role of language in culture and identity …

It’s no secret that language has always fascinated me. And I love speaking to interesting people. When I can combine those two loves, well …

Earlier today I had the great privilege of chatting online to Prof Quentin Williams. Quentin is a passionate advocate for his language and his culture, and he’s also the Director of the Centre for Multilingualism and Diversities Research (CMDR) and Full Professor of Linguistics in the Linguistics Department at the University of the Western Cape.

Quentin is Co-Editor of the journal, “Multilingual Margins: a journal of Multilingualism from the periphery”, founder and chairperson of the “Societie virrie Advancement of Kaaps” (SAK), and co-founder of the “Heal the Hood” Hip Hop Lecture Series, a forum for the African Hip Hop Indaba.

Quentin has for several years been working on the publication of the first ever Kaaps dictionary, a project that has finally come to fruition!

This was no dry, dusty academic discussion! It was engaging and thought-provoking, and also just plain fun. You can watch the recording here …